Another one bites the dust.
You look back and wonder how the year went by so fast, while images and sounds flash past. 365 days -- so many things to be done, so little achieved. And whatever happened to the many resolutions you made last year? To get rid of all those excess kilos, get on that dreaded treadmill, start working harder, make more money, get enrolled in that dance class, go out there and make more friends. What happened to them all?
Maybe if you only just a few more days in a year, there was the slightest chance that you could have made it. But there is no need to push that panic button just yet. Here's another chance to make all those resolutions that you broke - all over again, for next year.
The thing is to figure out how the hell you can actually keep them. I mean, what is it about the New Year that brings out this really determined side in us? When we set ourselves these high goals, promise to work towards them, and assert how nothing on earth can stop us.
Two months down the line, picture yourself. One slice of cheese pizza shouldn't really make a difference, you think. Besides, with pollution doing all that damage to your lungs, what more can a couple of cigarettes do, you point out to your spouse? By the way, did you read that report in yesterday's newspaper that early morning jogs are not recommended by doctors, due to the high pollution levels between 3 am and 2.00 pm? And you sink deeper into your comfortable seat.
If you're looking for an excuse, you can be assured you will find more than your share of them. For example, Elizabeth Miller, a doctoral candidate in psychology, and Alan Marlatt, director of the Washington University's Addictive Behaviors Research Center, found that 63 percent of 264 persons questioned remained faithful to their No. 1 resolution for at least two months.
So, if you were actually faithful to your resolution for more than two months, you are closer to keeping it than you think.
No one really knows how the practice of resolutions really started, but it is said to be as old as the tradition of celebrating New Year. The Babylonians celebrated New Year nearly 4000 years ago and, no matter when people have celebrated it, it has always been a time for looking back to the past and, more importantly, to the coming year.
Back to how you can ensure that you keep your resolutions for the next year. Alan Marlatt says that, "A New Year's resolution made at the last minute is a sure-fire formula for failure."
For a start, then, make sure you have your resolutions made a few weeks in advance. People who thought about their resolutions for some time were more successful than those who came up with them at the last minute, like after the New Year's Eve party. So says the research.
Keep a printed copy of it somewhere. Preferably a place where you can see it often, like on a board above your desk at work, beside your mirror, or in your wallet. Frequent reminders will make sure you don't forget about them a week or two into the new year.
There is also a helpful service that will send you Reminders, just to make sure you're not slipping up. Imagine your guilt when, while going into raptures over the latest electronic gizmo you just downloaded at 11.00 p.m., you get an email reminder: "I will spend more time with my wife today."
If you're the kind who hates being humiliated publicly, make sure you tell someone (or better still, tell a lot of people) what you are most determined to do in the new year. Post it on a Web site for everyone to see or send someone an email. So, if you're planning to quit smoking, send an email to your most ardent opposition (most likely your spouse) specifying when you are planning to quit or cut down. Just be prepared to cringe with embarrassment when you're just over with your second pack, reading the same mail returned to you (by your spouse, of course).
It also helps to be specific. Rather than have a vague resolution like losing weight, try something like 'I will lose 5 kilos in 2 months.' And remember the good thing is that you're one of the most flexible people when it comes to your own resolutions. Get good with setting goals and, if that's an alien concept, pick some useful tips here.
Next: keep reviewing your resolutions. Find out how you can achieve success by following other people's successes and failures. It can be rather comforting to know that you belong to a vast majority who land up breaking more promises than they keep. But if you're still determined to get on top and stay there, cheers to you.
With D-day around the corner, those still wondering which areas need improvement and what their resolutions are going to be, can pick up a few ideas here.
Imagine this: two months down the track, two sizes larger than you wish to be, you are sitting in front of the idiot box, watching gorgeous bodies dancing in sync to some snazzy music. You want to take charge of your life, but time is passing you by. Again. There's too much to be done, and you're having trouble separating the urgent from the important.
You're wishing, then, that you had kept that resolution that you made so fervently, and conveniently put at the back of your mind, to exercise regularly and get organised in life. I can then see you paying a lot more attention to this article.
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